AN: Feel free to Review, Follow and Favourite. I am also open to PM's if you want to contact me in that way.
So this is the space I will use for a quick shameless plug. I have published a new story called "Short Story: Songs" (Or the unofficial abbreviation "SSS") It's just a collection of one shots based on the names of songs and the rest is completely up to me to interpret.
I apologize for how poor the last chapter was written especially towards the end. I didn't allow myself the sleep I needed and didn't bother to proofread it before updating it, one of my biggest mistakes that I hope never happens again
Sooooo... Nick finally drops the truth bomb on Judy...
Some may see this as overreacting but who cares because Cimar Of Turalis WildeHopps had favorited this story and I couldn't even think straight for a few minutes, possibly even a few hours. Anyway if you don't know who he is (somehow) you should check him out as he is one of the main reasons why I started writing this, even if it wasn't my original idea for a fanfic.
Reviews:
Pale Rider (Guest): I always try to update on a weekday and at the weekend but sometimes miss updates. Thank you for the recap of the chapter and I wonder if Nick can help Judy achieve her dream. As for the misspelling, I was very tired at the time and that must have affected my writing.
As for where it goes from here... you're just going to have to sit back and wait to find that out
GhostWolf88: I do intend to finish this story no matter what.
Boissey: I hope that he lived up to expectations, I tried to make him more than just a generic background character. As for Judy's reaction... read on and you shall find that out for yourself and you're right, there are so many possibilities that I'm 100% confident that what I do go with will be completely unexpected
Zootopia Stereotypes
Chapter 11: The Truth Comes Out
As Nick entered the police cruiser he looked over to his right and noticed the bunny staring out the window at the store they had just exited. She seemed to be deep in thought and Nick waited for a minute, expecting her to come back to the real world and notice his arrival. When she seemed to still be in her own world after a few minutes Nick's patience grew thin.
"Carrots" He said softly as he reached over and gently put his paw on her shoulder. The sudden contacts seemed to cause the doe to jump a little before she turned and looked at him
"Nick, how long have you been here?" she questioned as she turned and repositioned herself so she was facing Nick
Nick gave off a shrug as he responded "I don't know, five minutes or something like that"
Judy's ears fell back as she lowered her head and spoke in a low voice "sorry I was just...remembering some not so pleasant times"
Nick lifted his head and looked back at the store, not moving his gaze as he spoke "I'm guessing that they were about your experience with Gideon"
Judy nodded her head slowly as she spoke softly and quietly "I have had the displeasure of knowing him since I was nine, fifteen years ago"
An uneasy silence took over the vehicle as Nick started it and started to drive off slowly towards the centre of the town where they had agreed that they would start their small tour.
Nick decided to break the silence as they came to a stop at a red light "Wanna tell me about some of these experiences? or at least offer some type of information about why he is the way he is"
Judy opened her mouth to talk but found herself stopping as she saw a small group of four bunnies walk down the street in their direction. She looked at the group that consisted of two bucks and two does. When Judy recognized one of the bucks she quickly ducked down in her seat and curled up in a ball in attempts to make herself as small as she could to lessen the chances of being spotted.
Nick turned his head at the sudden quick movement from his passenger and gave her a confused look that seemed to ask her "are you crazy?" when she peeked out from behind her ears.
"What are you doing?"
"The group of bunnies coming down the path is looking for me, or at least I think they are. The tallest of the four is Jack and I didn't tell anyone I left the house and if they managed to get in my room and realize that I'm not there they would start to panic and send out people to look for me. But even if they think I'm still in my room and see me out in town with the fox officers who my father tried to kill twice and once with a farming tool they will call my parents and within the minute they would be dragging me home"
Nick gave a slow nod and turned to look at the group of bunnies that Judy was on about but couldn't see any. Turning back to Judy as he looked at her with amusement "Carrots, you're seeing things, there is no group of bunnies"
"Really?" Judy asked as she started to rise up but stopped when her ears twitched at the sound of the passenger door being knocked on.
Suddenly Judy launched at Nick and burrowed herself between the foxes body and the driver door. All while Nick tried not to laugh too loud at the sight before him. Without intending to Nick found himself staring at Judy's tail as it poked out a little. He was pulled out of his staring as the knock on the passenger door was repeated.
Shimmying along the seats, Nick rolled down the window as he balanced a pair of sunglasses on his snout and looked down at the group of bunnies, the tallest of the four, Jack looking at the fox with disgust "How may I help you all today?" Nick asked casually.
When he got no answer Nick was going to ask the question again but Jack spoke confidently "We are looking for my sister Judy and we believe that you have reason to have seen her recently"
Nick put on his default hustler smile as he watched Jack's show of bravery for standing up to a fox while his friends seemed to back away "Haven't seen her since your old man chased me off for who knows what reason"
Jack put on a look of annoyance and went to walk away but stopped himself as he turned to look at Nick again and spoke in a deep and threatening tone "If I find out you did anything to my sister, it's not my father you will have to worry about" and with that he walked off with his friends slowing following behind.
When Nick finally went back into the vehicle he turned around and saw Judy sitting normally with her paws holding onto the steering wheel in front of her as she kicked her hind paws in the air as she turned and looked at Nick "Sorry you had to meet Jack like that, he is very protective and caring and sometimes says something without thinking and he..."
"Don't worry fluff" Nick cut her off "I actually liked him" he said while taking the glasses off and putting them back where he had found them
Judy gave him a look of surprise as she tried to figure out if he was lying or not "Really?" she asked after giving up on observing Nick
"Yeah, I don't mind protective and caring, I would say he's a lot like me actually" Nick said before he looked at the side mirror and saw that the group had fully disappeared "foxes are naturally protective and territorial of those they care for so I can relate to how he feels"
Judy just nodded her head as she went back to looking out the windshield
Nick started to move back into the drivers seat when he stopped and looked out the windshield "This is the longest red light I have ever been in"
"Ohhh no it changed when you were talking to Jack so I put your indicator on so others could drive past" Judy said as she stopped moving her hind paws and stood up on the chair
Just as Judy said this the light started to change and Judy quickly looked at Nick "you get the pedals, I'll decide where we are going"
Nick gave her a small salute as he jumped down and stood on the mat of the wolf sized police cruiser, his chest coming up to the seat as he slowly pushed down on the gas pedal and got the vehicle in motion.
During the day Judy had taken Nick to some of the more memorable parts of Bunnyburrow. From the statue in the middle of the town that was dedicated to everyone who was a casualty in times of war, to the Bunnyburrow school and other such places, Nick giving Judy his undivided attention. It had came to a slow end when Judy and Nick had gotten a large pizza to share during the trip back to Judy's home.
Nick was a bit annoyed that the place had only vegetarian options but when he remembered that he was in a town that the majority of the population was bunnies, he understood why.
They ate the pizza in a comfortable silence with the roar of the cruiser's engine making the only noise except for the few crunches when either fox or bunny bit into the crust of a pizza slice.
"Say Judy" Nick started immediately getting Judy's attention with the use of her name "you never told me what happened between you and Gideon"
Judy took a moment to realize that he was right. She never told him why she got such a cold reception from Gideon earlier in the day.
"Well, when I was nine me and my friends put on this performance for the annual carrot day festival an-"
"Hold on" Nick said, interrupting Judy "annual carrot day festival?" Nick asked which got a nod of Judy's head and Nick had to try to hold in the urge to just burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of having a festival dedicated to carrots in a town full of bunnies
"What's so funny about that?" Judy asked at the reaction she had expected to get from the fox
"Nothing, please continue your story" Nick said as he slowly gained control over his laughs
"Anyway, the performance was about how we evolved as mammals and how we didn't have to be how others saw us, one of my friends who was apart of the performance Jaguar and before you ask, yes he was a jaguar" Judy said as she saw Nick open his mouth "he said he didn't have to be a lonely hunter anymore and that he is going to be an actuary. My other friend, Sharla said that because she was a sheep she didn't have to cower in a herd anymore and that she could instead be an astronaut. When it came to me I said how I was going to be a police officer in Zootopia"
Judy stopped talking for a moment at the mention of wanting to be a cop. Despite how long she was given to think it over she would never get used to not being able to do what she had dreamed so much remained quiet and patient knowing that it was still a sensitive subject.
Once Judy recovered she went straight back to tell her story "Anyways, Gideon was there and he tried to insult me about my dreams and humiliate me in front of everyone for thinking about such things but I had a comeback on the tip of my tongue and he wasn't pleased. Fast forward 10 minutes and he had stolen my friend's festival tickets. I went to get them back, he pushed me on the floor and I kicked him in the face, in retaliation he...he clawed at my face and gave me a scar, three marks on my left cheek"
Nick winced at the mention of claw marks, he had seen what they had done to his mother all them years ago and he could only imagine how much it must have hurt for someone small. His face must have shown how he felt as Judy began to clarify
"He didn't cut into any skin, just grazed against it, no blood or anything thankfully"
Nick found himself giving a slow nod of the head as he looked at Judy, trying to see if the claw marks were visible but from his position on the floor, it was almost impossible
Soon the cruiser was coming to a stop a little down the road from Judy's home. They didn't want to avoid any suspicion and despite Judy being in a better mood, she didn't want to confront her family. Especially since she knew that they knew she was no longer in her room.
As they came to a stop Judy moved to the passenger seat as Nick pulled himself up onto the drivers seat.
"Thanks for such a fun day Nick" Judy said as she turned her head to face him
"No problem Carrots" Nick said and then everything was awkward.
It felt like something special was meant to happen, Nick knew what this was but couldn't bring himself to do it. Especially with what he would have to do.
Judy started to reach for the door but froze when Nick quickly reached out and took a hold of her wrist. Judy slowly turned around and saw the look on Nick's face, it showed that he was having an internal war, about what she didn't fully know but she did have her suspicions.
"Nick, what's-"
"Judy, I have to tell you something" Nick quickly cut her off. He was fully serious. From the use of her name, his tone and the look on his face, nothing seemed to say what he was about to say next was a joke
Nick took a deep breath and closed his eyes and to make sure there was no escaping from this talk, he quietly locked the doors. He didn't know if Judy heard it but he didn't give her time to question it.
"Ju...Judy I...I killed...I killed Darren"
There were a few moments of silence and Nick tensed in every second until Judy's soft spoken voice spoke out.
"I know Nick"
The foxes eyes shot open and he looked at the bunny with surprise "How?" he questioned in a slightly shaky voice
Judy reached into her back pocket of her jeans and handed Nick the piece of paper which he took with reluctance as she spoke "This fell out of your pocket before you went to the Jummps family"
Nick stared at the picture and the drawings that he had done to try and create some form of comfort and forget about it. He turned it over and looked at the letter and he scammed over it, not taking any of the information in as he had sat down and read through it multiple times and could probably recite it word by word.
Nick jumped as Judy placed a paw over his and raised his gaze to meet her curious amethyst eyes "Why Nick?" she questioned simply "Who is Mr. Big and why did he get you to kill Darren?" Judy asked in the same soft spoken voice
Nick took a deep breath as he prepared himself for the explanation of a lifetime "Mr. Big is one of the most feared crime bosses in Zootopia, he essentially controls Tundratown and before I knew who he was we had crossed paths. It was about 10 months ago I saw him as another easy hustle and he asked for a premium rug made from artificial materials. As a part of the hustle me and my friend gave him a rug from the butt of a skunk, we thought we were safe until one night two of his polar bear henchmen took me off the streets to his manor"
"When I arrived there I was threatened to be iced if I didn't do what he wanted me to" as Nick saw Judy slightly quizzical gaze he knew what she was wondering "Being iced is when you are dropped into a pit of freezing cold water that would kill someone my size in about 10 seconds, for you it would be more instant. But anyway I didn't want to die so as apart of his scheme he got me to join the police force to be his mammal on the inside and tell him if anyone caught wind of what he was doing"
"Once I finished the academy he told me about Darren, he had taken a loan from Mr. Big and made no attempts to pay it back so I was sent to do the dirty work and kill the poor kit. I hadn't slept and the first time I got sleep was the first day I arrived here for my investigation"
"There's more" Judy stated softly, trying to be as encouraging and comforting as possible
"Technically I'm not finished with doing Mr. Big's dirty work" Nick confessed and leaned back against the driver side door and closed his eyes "He said he wanted any witnesses dead and...you reported his disappearance...that makes you a... a witness" Nick started to struggle with what he was saying as a few tears started to roll down his cheek
"You have to kill me" Judy stated simply and got a very slow head nod from Nick
They stayed in silence. Nick had his eyes shut and had expected Judy to have already started running away from him so when he opened his eyes he was surprised that Judy was still sitting in front of him, still looking as gentle and caring as before
She slowly stood up and grabbed Nick's paws in hers and looked him deep in the eyes "Do it" she whispered
Nick froze when Judy requested this and he looked at his paws. Judy slowly raised his paws so that his claws were pressed against each side of her neck and she closed her eyes, waiting for the fox to make his move.
Nick kept his paws there for all of a few moments before he dropped them and put them on his knees that where now placed up to his chest
"Nick-"
"I can't Judy" Nick said quietly as more tears started to go down his cheek
"Nick you have to" Judy said as she went to grab his paws again but found him moving them behind his back so that she couldn't grab them
"No I don't!" Nick said in a raised voice before he lowered it and continued to speak "I was at the police station today because I was going to turn myself in and get you placed under witness protection"
"Nick, it's for your life, please just do it for me" Judy begged as she lowered herself onto her knees in front of Nick
When Nick gave no response Judy sighed and slowly brought herself to her feet."I don't want to do this Nick but you leave me no choice" she said as she walked to the passenger seat and reached into the glove compartment, pulling out the tranquilizer that she had discovered while Nick was paying for their pie.
She placed the tranq in Nick's lap and Nick looked at it before looking at Judy "The dosage is too high and will kill me on impact" she stated
"I know" Nick replied quietly as he stared at the weapon and picked it up in his paw and went to remove the cartridge but a small grey paw stopped him
"Nick, you remember earlier, the little bet we had?" Judy asked
Nick nodded his head and stared deeply into the purple eyes he grew to love
"Do you remember what the loser would have to do?" Judy continued to ask
Nick nodded his head slowly "yeah, they would do anything for the winner, where are you going with this Judy?"
"If I remember correctly, I was the winner and you were the loser" she stated simply
Nick remained silent and nodded his head when he felt it was his turn to contribute to the conversation
"Nick" Judy stated softly and removed the foxes paw from the cartridge and placed it on the trigger "I want you to shoot me with the tranquilizer"